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. 2020 Jul;16(3):e12978.
doi: 10.1111/mcn.12978. Epub 2020 Mar 5.

Levels and determinants of malnutrition among India's urban poor women: An analysis of Demographic Health Surveys 2006 and 2016

Vani Sethi  1 , Arjan de Wagt  1 , Arti Bhanot  2 , Konsam Dinachandra Singh  3 , Praween Agarwal  1 , Zivai Murira  4 , Salima Bhatia  5 , Dinesh Baswal  5 , Sayeed Unisa  3 , S V Subramanian  6
Affiliations

Levels and determinants of malnutrition among India's urban poor women: An analysis of Demographic Health Surveys 2006 and 2016

Vani Sethi et al. Matern Child Nutr. 2020 Jul.

Abstract

A quarter of 400 million urban Indian residents are poor. Urban poor women are as undernourished as or worse than rural women but urban averages mask this disparity. We present the spectrum of malnutrition and their determinants for more than 26,000 urban women who gave birth within 5 years from the last two rounds of Demographic Health Survey 2006 and 2016. Among urban mothers in the lowest quartile by wealth index (urban poor), 12.8% (95% CI [11.3%, 14.5%]) were short or with height < 145 cm; 20.6% (95% CI [19%, 22.3%]) were thin or with body mass index < 18.5 kg/m2 ; 57.4% (95% CI [55.5%, 59.3%]) had any anaemia (haemoglobin < 12 g/dL), whereas 32.4% (95% CI [30.5%, 34.3%]) had moderate to severe anaemia; and 21.1% (95% CI [19.3%, 23%]) were obese (body mass index ≥ 25 kg/m2 ). Decadal gains were significant for thinness reduction (17p.p.) but obesity increased by 12 p.p. Belonging to a tribal household increased odds of thinness by 1.5 (95% CI [1.06, 2.18]) times among urban poor mothers compared with other socially vulnerable groups. Secondary education reduced odds of thinness (0.61; 95% CI [0.48, 0.77]) and higher education of short stature (0.41; 95% CI [0.18, 0.940]). Consuming milk/milk products, pulses/beans/eggs/meats, and dark green leafy vegetables daily reduced the odds of short stature (0.52; 95% CI [0.35, 0.78]) and thinness (0.72; 95% CI [0.54, 0.98]). Urban poor mothers should be screened for nutritional risks due to the high prevalence of all forms of malnutrition and counselled or treated as per risk.

Keywords: anaemia; double burden; obesity; short stature; thinness; urban poor; urban women.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that they have no conflicts of interest. This research was funded by UNICEF India. The text has not been edited to UNICEF official publication standards and UNICEF accepts no responsibility for errors. The views expressed are those of authors and not necessarily those of UNICEF. The designations in this publication do not imply an opinion or legal status of any country or territory, or of its authorities, or the delimitation of frontiers.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Sampling flow chart, Demographic Health Survey (DHS)‐3 and DHS‐4
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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